Residents resigned to Walmart plan, road changes

Thursday

May 23, 2013 at 8:42 PM

An open house detailing proposed construction of a store on Market Street drew fewer than 20 residents

By Will DraboldWill.Drabold@StarNewsOnline.com

Almost 4,900 feet of road is set to be divided in Porters Neck. Although some residents are not happy about the changes, they see it as a foregone conclusion. An open house detailing proposed construction of a Walmart on Market Street between Porters Neck Road and Marsh Oaks Drive drew fewer than 20 Wilmington residents Thursday evening. Developers and state officials at the event tried to convince locals that Market Street construction is in their best interest. “We're trying to reduce the amount of left turns, which reduces the severity of accidents,” said Chad Kimes, division three operations engineer for the N.C. Department of Transportation.“This (Walmart) is going to generate much more traffic. We're trying to ease the congestion while making it safer at the same time,” Kimes said.Paramount Development Corp. out of South Carolina is spearheading the project, which would widen Market Street to allow U-turns, add a traffic light and create a concrete median on Market Street. N.C. DOT will cover up to $400,000 of the project, said Patrick Riddle, division three planning engineer. Creation of the median along 4,893 feet of Market Street – eliminating the ability to make a left turn – was mandated by the city of Wilmington, the New Hanover County Commissioners and the Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization as part of the Market Street Corridor study, adopted in 2011. “Because of the two-way left turn and and number of conflict points located along the corridor … it prohibits efficient movement of goods and people,” said Mike Kozlosky, executive director of the Wilmington MPO. “As development occurs along the corridor, the burden could be placed on the development community (to create the medians).”The Market Street modifications are necessary to accommodate the estimated 10,000 cars a day that will travel to the Walmart, said David Harner, vice president and senior real estate manager for Paramount. Paramount will present its plan to the Wilmington Planning Commission on June 6.If all goes as planned, construction of the Walmart could begin in early 2014, Harner said. “With this median that they're planning to put, we're going to have to turn right to go to Marsh Oaks stoplight to turn left,” said Sheri Joloy, a Porters Neck resident who lives adjacent to the proposed development. “We have five dump trucks in our neighborhood. They can't make that turn.” Despite attending the open house and airing her complaints, Joloy said she does not expect the developer or N.C. DOT to change their minds. “Our dump trucks go out to I-140. They'll have to U-turn just (to get home),” she said. “Walmart will come in and take my property if they need it. They're really causing me a problem.”